Online Memberships A Huge Hit for NSW Rugby - NSWRU Media Unit
The 2008 Super 14 season looks set to be a big one for HSBC Waratahs members with renewals going through the roof on day one of sales.
The first 24 hours saw a tenfold increase in sales on 2007 levels.
The increase is due at least in part to the development of NSW Rugby's new online membership interface, which allows fans to secure their seats via the internet.
NSW Rugby Chief Executive Officer Jim L'Estrange says the reaction to the new renewal process has been outstanding.
"2008 promises to be a big year and we're already drawing a crowd," Mr. L'Estrange said.
"I've been a NSW Rugby Union member for a long time and from personal experience the new system is leaps and bounds ahead of the old.
"Being able to renew online means no matter where in the world our members find themselves over coming weeks - be it Montpellier or Maroubra - they'll be able to quickly and easily renew their association with the Waratahs.
"By renewing online members get an instant guarantee that their seats are safe for 2008."
The off-field innovation will be matched on it, with the Waratahs boasting an exciting roster of established and up and coming stars.
HSBC Waratahs head coach Ewen McKenzie said even with five months to go before kick off, season 2008 is shaping up to be an exciting year.
"There's already plenty to like about next season," McKenzie said.
"We've recruited strongly with Timana Tahu and Luke Burgess coming into the squad, and have exciting young players like Tatafu Polota-Nau, Kurtley Beale and Lachie Turner who will be much better for the experience gained in 2007.
"Our home crowd is a direct source of inspiration for the players and we rely on them to make the Sydney Football Stadium an intimidating venue for visiting teams.
"As a team we're eyeing a top four finish and this is a chance for all members, old and new, to be a part of it."
The priority renewal period for existing members started this week for NSWRU Life Members and will be followed by Season Member renewals.
Memberships will then be made available to the general public.
The Waratahs have six competition matches at the Sydney Football Stadium in 2008, including blockbuster clashes against the Hurricanes (Round 1), Brumbies (Round 4), Blues (Round 8) and 2007 runners up the Sharks (Round 11).
Members also get guaranteed seats to the Rotomahana Challenge match against the Crusaders, the traditional final trial before the start of the competition, as well as an inbound tour game and the Tooheys New Shute Shield Grand Final.
Other member benefits include special access to the team, priority access to purchase tickets in the event of a home Semi-Final or Final, and an exclusive members-only merchandise pack.
For further details, visit the NSWRU Memberships page at http://www.waratahs.com.au/Memberships/Memberships.aspx.
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CRM kicks soccer in the right direction - Computerworld, August 9, 2006
Australia's football governing body, Football Federation Australia (FFA), is in the early stages of rolling out a
national CRM system to redress problems left by the previous administration and to give a needed cash-kick to grassroots clubs.
Over the next five years, the federation plans to deploy a software suite, developed by UK-based First-Sports,
to all tiers of football administration in Australia.
The solution will enable the federation to build a national database of its 700,000 registered players, which will
then be used as a competition management platform to streamline communication across the sport's state federations,
zones, districts, associations and clubs that will manage the administration of participants, fans and volunteers.
"One of the interesting aspects of sport is that it is not a one-to-one relationship in terms of an organization and a customer,
which a traditional CRM covers," FFA Online manager, Paul Templeman said.
"[The software] has the traditional CRM elements -contact management and marketing, but it also has sport-specific
modules such as player registration, coaching accreditation and referee registration, which makes it perfect for us."
The system will be built from the ground up, because under Australia's previous football governing body
(the now-defunct Soccer Australia), there was no national database of registered players; there was also an outdated online system.
The rollout will be in line with the introduction of new FFA national regulations which will take effect from January 1, 2007.
These regulations require all players in Australia to register with the FFA and the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
Previously, players only had to register with their respective state bodies.
Templeman said the critical factor in using the First-Sports system was its ability to create a 360-degree view of each participant,
highlighting multiple roles and interactions within the football community in Australia. This would allow for coordinated marketing campaigns,
better communication and player accountability, he said.
"For the past 18 months, since the federation liquidated Soccer Australia, we've been trying to unite the tribes," Templeman said.
"The old NSL [National Soccer League] clubs were ethnically aligned and their fan bases were just as fragmented, but we're on our way to changing that."
This fragmentation posed a number of problems for the game's administration in Australia, particularly in regard to the funding of grassroots clubs.
The absence of player data meant Australian football clubs could not qualify for financial compensation through a FIFA-sponsored claims system,
which provisions a downward flow of funds to grassroots clubs as players move through the ranks of professional football.
"FIFA requires national football associations to prove a player's playing history, which was completely impossible under the bedraggled system
of the old Soccer Australia," Templeman said.
He added that meeting FIFA regulations, securing funding for grassroots clubs and managing the flow of data from each respective state football association,
were among the main reasons for using the CRM suite.
"Ultimately, the process is going to be dependant on how each of the state football bodies decide to roll it out," Templeman said. "We'll be there for support,
but how they decide to roll out the registration process is up to them."
Although the task of rolling out the system to every football club in Australia would be a daunting one, its completion would provide harmony to the disparate
sets of rules and regulations that govern each respective state body and association, Templeman said.
"At the moment it is difficult to quickly gather detailed statistics of players and teams and therefore ground allocations," he said, adding
that the solution will allow the combination of demographic information.
"It places us in a much better position to lobby councils and local governments for more support and ground allocation," he said.
The federation will bear the bulk of the infrastructure cost and is looking to invest "seven-figure sums" for the overall
implementation. At most, the state and district football associations would only need to pay for licensing costs of the system, Templeman said.
"It's a massive rollout and we don't expect to get it right the first time or have everyone using it next week," he said. "We will be taking our
time to do it properly, and although there will be pent-up demand, we'll manage it."
First-Sports' experience in the sporting world is varied with clients like the English Football Association, Wimbledon and Rugby Football Union in England.
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Project Trafalgar puts rugby union out in front, Touchline - May 2006 Issue 79
The most modern administration system in British sport is being implemented by the RFU. Project Trafalgar is a game-wide internet-based tool to help run rugby at all levels, with the details of more than one million coaches, referees, players and volunteers held on a single system.
The project has taken three years to develop by First Sports International, a leading provider of sports software technology solutions, and will be fully operational for the RFU and Rugby Football Union for Women by the start of next season in August.
Nick Bunting, RFU Head of Planning, Funding and Resources, said, "Project Trafalgar will put rugby union at the cutting edge of sports administration for a national governing body.
"We are replacing the plethora of current ageing IT systems with a single system. This will reduce the time taken to enter information, eliminate lots of different databases, and provides a more secure one that is regularly backed up. The system will not only be integral to the daily running of the sport but it will provide robust data about the health of the game, such as the number of qualified referees and coaches. We will use the information to see if the standards are improving and to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of programmes."
Users, from youth player registrars to club coaching co-ordinators, will be able to access and update information - known as a Rugby Passport - using a secure log-in. Access will be restricted so that only the person with the authority and valid CRB checks can update the information relevant to their role.
Bob Morrison, administrator for league rugby in the south west, added, "We register about 10,000 players every season and this new system has made it so much easier. For a start it’s internet-based so we are not having to dial up to a central computer and once a player is registered at youth level we are not having to duplicate their details. The next phase will be for league secretaries to be able to access the database and ultimately clubs, obviously with controlled access."
Clare Sharpe, Youth Registrar for Northumberland Rugby Union, said, "I input about 700 registrations a year for the 17 clubs in Northumberland who have junior sections and it’s made things so much easier. Players are categorised by age groups, gender, clubs and schools so you are not having to trawl through hundreds of names. I can now e-mail every youth coach an up to date list of all their players and any queries or amendments can be dealt with very quickly."
Enquiries regarding Project Trafalgar should be directed to Rob Mackmurdie on0208 8316580 or at robmackmurdie@rfu.com.
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